Railroad-spike.



H. s. WRIGHT.

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HARTWELL S. WRIGHT, OF VAN DUZEB, ARKANSAS.

RAILROAD-SPIKE.

. Application filed May 13, 1916.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that l, HAn'rwnLL S. W RIGHT, acitizen of the United States of America, residing at Van Duzer, in thecounty of Ouachita and State of Arkansas, have invented certain new anduseful improvements in Railroad-Spikes, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to a spike and has for its principal object theproduction of a railroad spike which is provided with grooves so formedthereon as to provide elongated cutting edges so that after the spikehas been driven into the tie, which may be easily done, the cuttingedges will bury themselves in the wood so as to prevent the accidentaldisplacement or pulling out of the spike.

With the above and other objects in view this invention consists ofcertain novel combina-tions, constructions, and arrangements of parts aswill be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing: Figure 1 is a side elevation of therailroad spike as constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2is a front elevation of the spike. Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line33 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 4 is asection taken on the line 44; of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of thearrows. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of thespike, illustrating a part thereof in section, so as to illustrate themanner in which the grooves extend continuously around the spike andalso show the cutting edges as the same appear when burying themselvesin the wood of the tie.

Referring to the accompanying drawing by numerals it will be seen thatthe spike 1 is substantially rectangular in cross-section and has avertical head 2 formed upon its upper end, while the lower end isprovided with a substantially pointed structure 3 for facilitating thedriving of the spike into a railroad tie.

The grooves 4: are formed upon the side surfaces of the body 1,extending from the central axis of the side, as shown at 5, extendingupwardly at acute angles with respect to the central axis of the spike,whereby each groove upon each side of the body Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Feb. 6, 1917.

Serial No. 97,352.

will constitute a substantially V-shaped structure. These grooves l areformed upon each side of the body 1 so as to communicate with thegrooves upon the adjacent side surface of the body 1, as shown mostclearly in Fig. 5. These grooves extend for a considerable distance intothe body of the spike 1, as indicated at 6 in Fig. 5, thereby providingcutting edges 7 These cutting edges '1' extend throughout the entirelength of the grooves i, and, therefore, at the central portion of theV-shaped grooves l the cutting edges 7 will provide a pocketlikestructure for purposes to be hereinafter set forth.

When this spike is in use it may be driven into a tie and since thecutting edges 7 are formed so as to extend upwardly the cutting edgeswill resist the movement of the spike into the tie. If, however,pressure or strain is exerted upon the spike so as to tend toward itsaccidental displacement from engagement with the tie the cutting edges 7will dig into the tie and prevent this accidental removal. It is wellknown that when spikes and like devices are driven into wood the woodwill wedge slightly. Such is the action of the present device whenpassing into the tie. However, after the body of the spike breaks thewood and the cutting edges pass thereinto, the grooves following in thewake of the cutting edges will receive the wood upon its expansion toits normal position. As the grooves receive the wood the cutting edgeswill fit beneath the portions of the tie projecting into the grooves sothat upon any tendency of the spike toward being removed, the accidentaldisplacement will cause the cutting edges to bite into the wood and holdthe spike. The projecting end of each cutting edge upon each side of thespike will cause the wood to wedge at the center of the cutting edge,forming an additional resistance to the removal of the spike. Therefore,it will be seen' that by having the grooves upon each side formed in aV-shaped nature the cutting edges will always be formed so as to provideV-shaped structures and that furthermore, the grooves and cutting edgesare formed so as to communicate with each other upon each side of thespike, whereby very eiiicient cutting edges have been provided whichwill positively hold the spike against accidental displacement, beingfar more efficient than the ordinary barbed construction of the spurswhich are commonly employed along the side edges of the spike body.

lVhat is claimed is:

1. As a new article of manufacture a railroad spike comprising a bodyhaving a. head formed thereon, said body having a plurality of V-shapedgrooves formed in its side portions, said grooves extending downwardlyfor a considerable distance into said body, thereby forming cuttingedges communicating with the side surface of said body, said spike beingadapted to be driven into a tie so as to permit the tie to spring backand partially fill said grooves when the inward movement of the spike islimited so that in case any outward pressure is exerted upon the spikethe cutting edges will dig into the tie and prevent the outward movementof the spike, while the ii-shaped construction of the grooves will causethe tie to further wedge in the central portions of the grooves forproviding an additiona resistance to outward movement of the spike.

2. As a new article of manufacture a spike comprising a body having ahead formed thereon, said spike having a plurality of V- shaped groovesformed in each side thereof, the grooves upon one side of said spikecomlnunicating with the grooves upon the adjacent side 'llllGll'QOf,said grooves extending downwardly for a considerable distance into saidbody, thereby forming upwardly extending cutting edges, the cuttingedges upon each side of said spike also being V- shaped to correspondwith said grooves, whereby after the spike has been driven into the sideportions of a tie in the wake of the cutting edges it may spring back toits normal position into said grooves so as to lit over said cuttingedges, whereby the cutting edges will bite into the tie throughout theirentire length, while the tie will fur-' ther bind upon the centralportions of the cutting edges owing to their V-shaped construction so asto prevent the accidental displacement of the spike.

In testimony whereof I hereunto ailix my signature.

HARTWELL S. WRIGHT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, L. G.

